Grant WoodAmerican, 1891–1942American Gothic
May one see it?
Yes, receiving visitors
Art Institute of Chicago
Room263Chicago, United States
On public display.
- Checked
- 4 hours ago
- In this state since
- Aug 19, 2026
- Source
- The museum's own collection data
About the painting
American Gothic is a 1930 oil painting on beaverboard by the American Regionalist artist Grant Wood, depicting a Midwestern farmer and his daughter standing in front of their Carpenter Gothic style home. It is one of the most famous American paintings of the 20th century and is frequently referenced in popular culture.
Wood was inspired to paint what is now known as the American Gothic House in Eldon, Iowa, along with "the kind of people [he] fancied should live in that house".
Read on
The figures were modeled after Wood's sister Nan Wood Graham and Byron McKeeby, the Wood family's dentist. The woman is dressed in a colonial print apron evoking 20th-century rural Americana while the man is adorned in overalls covered by a suit jacket and carries a pitchfork. The plants on the porch of the house are mother-in-law's tongue and beefsteak begonia, which also appear in Wood's 1929 portrait of his mother, Woman with Plants.
From 2016 to 2017, the painting was displayed in Paris at the Musée de l'Orangerie and in London at the Royal Academy of Arts, in its first showings outside the United States. The painting is in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Particulars
- Accession number
- 1930.934
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Art Institute of Chicago: the museum's own open data · fetched 4 days ago
- Image: Art Institute of Chicago — © the artist or rights holder
Meanwhile, in the life of Grant Wood
The whole life1922–1928
Four trips to Europe: the Impressionists and Van Eyck
Between 1922 and 1928 Wood made four trips to Europe, studying many styles of painting, especially Impressionism and Post-Impressionism; it was the 15th-century Flemish artist Jan van Eyck who influenced him most, giving him the clarity of technique that he brought into his new work.
1924–1935
“5 Turner Alley”: a studio in a carriage-house hayloft
From 1924 to 1935 Wood lived with his mother in the hayloft of a carriage house in Cedar Rapids that he had converted into his personal studio; it had no address until Wood made one up: “5 Turner Alley”.
1928
Munich: stained-glass windows for the Veterans Memorial
In 1928 Wood travelled to Munich to oversee the making of the stained-glass windows he had designed for the Veterans Memorial Building in Cedar Rapids.
1930
“American Gothic” in Chicago: a $300 prize
The painting was first exhibited in 1930 at the Art Institute of Chicago, where it still hangs; it won a $300 prize and made news stories nationwide, bringing Wood immediate recognition.
1930s
Helps Curry and Benton return to the Midwest
John Steuart Curry and Thomas Hart Benton, who with Wood are the artists most associated with Regionalism, returned to the Midwest thanks to his encouragement; he helped them find teaching positions at colleges, Curry in Wisconsin and Benton in Missouri.
1932
Helps found the Stone City Art Colony
In 1932 Wood helped found the Stone City Art Colony near his hometown to help artists get through the Great Depression.
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